Turbulent times: how the transformed foundation allocation process and 'placeholder' jobs affected new doctors

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By Ellie Philpotts

As graduate doctors encountered a new system for allocating foundation school places this year, some also had to contend with ‘placeholder’ posts that meant they wouldn’t find out their job location until just before they started. Ellie Philpotts reflects on an uncertain time for many new doctors.

This year, the UK Foundation Programme (UKFP), which allocates thousands of medical graduates to foundation programme places (FY1) across the UK annually, changed how doctors are given their placements.

The new system, Preference Informed Allocation (PIA), now gives applicants a computer-generated rank. It replaces the need for the Education Performance Measures (EPM) or Situational Judgement Tests (SJT), and its introduction followed a 2023 consultation with students, foundation doctors and schools, employers and other stakeholders.

In place for a decade, the SJT set questions on work-related scenarios, taken on a computer. But many applicants and their schools deemed it overly stressful and workload-heavy.

UKFPO claims its new system will increase the proportion of applicants achieving their first choice of the UK’s 18 foundation schools. It highlighted other advantages such as “simpler processes” and less “assessment burden”. However, applicants’ inability to influence their ranking is noted among its downsides.